Categories

Meta

Pages

Law

LAW, GOD’S LAW

Our Schoolmaster unto Salvation

Law and Grace Woven in the Scriptures

The Lord God Jehovah gave us a law. We find that law written throughout the pages of the Old Testament. That law condemned us all to die because none of us were able to follow it. And we should also remember that the Bible says in James that if we break one word of the law we are guilty of the whole law. The penalty for breaking the law is death. God, however, did not want us all to die, he wanted us to live. To accomplish his goal, the Lord God came veiled in the flesh in the man of Jesus Christ and fulfilled the entire law and took all of our sins upon himself and gave his life in place of ours.

It was you and I that were condemned to die on that cross, for you and I committed the sins that put Jesus there. But Jesus Christ, the great Kinsmen Redeemer, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the bright morning star, the rose of Sharron, the lily of the valley, the prince of peace, took your sins and my sins and all of our iniquities and bled and died there for you and I so that we might live with him forever.

This is a very well known doctrine to church going folks. If the Lord will, I would like to look a little deeper into it, to see exactly what the law was, why it was given and exactly what the Bible is telling us when it says that Jesus “fulfilled” the law. We also like to say that we are no longer under the law. We will by the grace of God look a little deeper into that statement and root out in the scriptures exactly what this means. Some will be very surprised indeed by what we will find.

Galatians 3: 19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

So the Bible says that the law is there to deal with transgressions, and the law exists because of those transgressions. This is an interesting and important point. Most would naturally think that the transgressions must come as a result of the law, but we find it written here in the opposite order. The law was added because of transgressions. First the transgressions existed, then the law was added because of them. The law is God’s answer to transgressions.

And the Word says that the law will continue UNTIL the seed should come to whom the promise was made. Who was that promised seed of Abraham, the promised seed of the woman back in the Garden of Eden? God said unto the serpent in Genesis chapter three that “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and the woman’s seed, and you shall bruise his heal, but he shall bruise your head”. The seed of the woman, the promised seed, was none other than Jesus Christ.

Now notice that the law actually existed before Moses. Moses did not write the law, he merely penned it as God spoke it to him. And in fact the famous Ten Commandments were even penned by the Lord God himself as he wrote them in stone with his own finger as the prophet Moses stood by and watched. The law actually started way back in Eden. I used to think that it started with Moses myself but the word explicitly says otherwise.

The first law was “eat not of the fruit for the day you eat thereof you will die”. That was the law in Eden. That was the only law they had at that time. Don’t eat and if you eat you die. It was short, it was simple and it was the law.

Notice now the two components of a law. Every law must have these two components or it is not a law. The first essential component is the thing that you are not supposed to do, and the second is the consequences for doing it. “Do not eat”: was the thing you aren’t supposed to do. And, “IF you eat you die”: was the unconditional Consequences. And every law has these two components.

Without both components it is not a law. Without a commandment it has no direction, and every law must be enforceable. Therefore if there is no consequence for breaking the law then the law is no longer enforceable and of no effect. Adam and Eve did not know much of the law back then but what they did know they were more than able to transgress.

The Bible said the Law was “added” because of transgressions. It was “added”, not just given in one shot but added, which in the Greek is prostithemi which is a verb meaning to increase or to proceed further in giving. So the law was given, but not at once, not in one place or at one specific time but rather it was given and increased over the passage of time, and proceeded further in its giving because of transgressions. The law unfolded with time. The law was a progressive revelation.

So is that it, or is there a deeper reason? Nothing happens without reason and there is no coincidence in life. Is there something more here, another layer? Why would God give the law out in a piecemeal fashion, a little here and a little there, and not in one big lump right at the beginning?

What is the underlying purpose of the law? We know it was given because of transgressions, but how was the law supposed to deal with those transgressions? What was the law doing with those transgressions and with the people it was given to? What is the relationship between us, the law, and the transgressions, and God the law giver and judge? The Bible gives us those answers.

Galatians 3:24Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

The law was our Schoolmaster. It is our teacher. The Bible says that it was brought in and added because of transgressions AND its purpose was to bring us unto Jesus Christ by teaching us as a schoolmaster. Then after the law brings us to Christ we might be justified by faith. That is a mouthful.

It doesn’t say that we can be justified by the law. The law does not and cannot justify anyone for every word of the law that we transgress condemns us to death. Rather, the law brings us to a place where we can be justified. And it brings us there by teaching us something. So if the law brings us to a place where we can be justified by faith through teaching us, then we need to know exactly what the law is supposed to be teaching us?

Romans 4:15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.

This ties in nicely with our central theme and opens the door a little more for us. It goes back a couple of scriptures and weaves itself in. So putting it together so far we see that the law was added because of transgressions and without the law there are transgressions, but we do not know of them and are left guiltless of the law. Why is there no guilt of transgressions without the law? The law alone determines what is, and what is not a transgression. So if there is no law, there is no crime. The act still exists, and the act can be against the perfect will of God, but there can be no crime assigned.

Look at the internet today. It is very new so there are almost no laws in place to govern what goes on with it. And when people are using it wrongly or for some evil purpose, nobody can hold them accountable in this world for their actions because there is no law on the books to charge them with. There is no commandment, and there are no consequences. So until someone writes a law, the police and the courts have no justification in arresting the people. They have nothing to charge them with. There might be horrible acts going on but there is no crime.

But once the law is in place you cannot do those same things anymore. You could do them before but the law is written but once the law is written, then the act becomes a crime. This is a very important and interesting point to note. The law is not retroactive. God created time for a purpose and uses time and has given us definite timelines within the plan of salvation.

So if you commit an offense yesterday and they bring in a law against it today you are free. But if you commit that same thing tomorrow, you go to jail, even if you have been doing it for years before without fault.

Here is an earthly example. The road from your house to work is not very busy and the speed limit is 50 mph. You drive it every day at 50 mph for 15 years. Then as the city develops the area and the road gets busier and someone decides that 50 mph is too fast and one Tuesday morning the speed limit is reduced to 30 mph. It does not matter that you have been driving at 50 for all those years. If you drive at 31 mph today you will get a ticket for speeding. You will not be ticketed for driving 50 mph on Monday, but Tuesday driving that very same road, in that very same car, at that very same speed will earn you a fine. On Monday it is an act with impunity, but on Tuesday that very same act becomes a crime with a punishment.

Here is a spiritual example from the scriptures. Abraham married his sister Sarah. She was his half sister and he took her for his wife. God blessed the union such that he gave them a miracle baby and made that baby the promised seed through whom God would bless the entire planet and every living soul on it. Keeping that fact in mind let us look at what the law of Moses clearly says about the act of a man marrying his sister.

Leviticus 18:9 The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of they father OR the daughter of thy mother, whether she be born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover.

It is needful to note the word “or” in this passage. The word or is in there for a reason. Some will say “but Sarah was his Half sister”. The law doesn’t say the daughter of thy father AND mother, it says the daughter of thy father OR mother. So according to the law of Moses, Abraham committed sin punishable by death. Abraham clearly violated the laws of Moses. How could God bless a union that was in clear violation of his law that he gave us through his prophet?

Abraham married his sister, an act which is condemned by God’s law. That we have established. Did Abraham sin? Absolutely not! Why? The law clearly shows that what Abraham did with Sarah in marrying her was a direct contravention of the law of God as written by his prophet Moses. So if Abraham transgressed the direct commandment of God, then how is there no sin?

The law concerning that transgression had not yet been added. Without law there is no guilt of transgression. And it wasn’t just Abraham that married his sister. Abel. Seth. Enos. The first few men had no choice, they either had to marry a sister or not marry at all for there were no other women on the planet. But it was not sin because there was no law concerning it yet and where there is no law there is no guilt of transgression. But don’t you do it today. If you do it today you will be found guilty and condemned with the world.

Now does that mean that if we don’t know the law we are saved? No don’t go getting that idea. Even in the laws of man, the ignorance of the law is not a valid excuse. The Bible covers that too:

Romans 2: 12For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law.

They did not know any better so they are judged outside of the law. They however still do not have Christ because it is the law that is the schoolmaster that leads us to Christ. So without the law they are not judged in the law, yet they still do not, and cannot, have Christ. So since the law leads us to Christ we cannot find salvation outside of the law, and since the law cannot justify us we cannot find salvation IN the law either. The law leads us to Jesus Christ, who is the salvation, the resurrection and the life. Jesus said:

Luke 12: 47 And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

See, the law teaches us to come to Christ, but if we do not come, the punishment is most severe. Ignorance is no excuse. The one who did not know of the law was still beaten with stripes. But the one who knew it was doubly guilty, first for transgressing the law and then also for disregarding the law which he knew. The Bible goes on to say in Hebrews that if we sin willfully after we come to the knowledge of the truth there is no more sacrifice for sin but a certain fearful looking for judgment.

Matthew 7:21 Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Jesus tells us here that we must do the will of the Father if we are to have any hope of entering the kingdom of Heaven. Then in order to be saved we need to know exactly what is the will of the Father? How can we know what the will of the Father is?

We need someone to teach us what the Will of the Father is or we could never know it. Without a teacher we are lost. God provided a teacher and not just any old teacher but a schoolmaster. The law is our schoolmaster. The law tells us what sin is, and what is not sin. It is the law that teaches us what the perfect will of God is. The law was added because of transgressions against God’s perfect will. It was added to teach us what those transgressions are and to show us what our reward is if we do them. Without the law how would we know? How would you know what God required of you unless He told you? You could try guessing. Lots of churches do that and look where it got them. We have over a thousand “Christian” churches today all preaching different, all preaching a different “perfect will of God”. God can only have ONE perfect will.

So the Law is our schoolmaster. Unfortunately that leaves us with a peculiar little paradox. We are told conclusively that we need the law, and that it is the law that teaches us the perfect will of God and leads us to Christ that we might be justified. But the Bible also says:

Galatians 5:18But if ye be led of the spirit, ye are not under the law.

How can we resolve this apparent contradiction? Like I said many times in the past, every line has to run true or it isn’t Bible. The Bible is incapable of contradicting itself, so if we find a contradiction then we must be off the scriptures somewhere.

If our doctrine gets stuck somewhere in scripture then that is a sign that our doctrine is wrong and we have to start over. Always remember that. If we have to explain away a single line of scripture, then our Urim Thummim, the Holy Bible, the Word of God, is telling us that we are wrong. Every doctrine of God lines up perfectly with every single word in the Bible. There are no mistakes.

But are we stuck with a contradiction or do we just need a couple of scriptures to bridge the gap in our understanding? There isn’t any gap in the Word, it’s complete and perfect. The gap is in our understanding of the Word, or rather our lack of understanding of the Word of God.

So let’s find the bridge that ties the two thoughts perfectly together.

The law is our schoolmaster, which the Bible says in Galatians, has two purposes. It first brings us to Christ. Second, in bringing us to Christ it brings us to a place where we can be justified by faith.

Lets start with the first thought. The law is our schoolmaster which brings us to Christ. So the law teaches us something, and what we learn from the law somehow brings us to Christ. Is that right? What does the law teach us?

We’ve already seen that it teaches us what is and what is not sin by showing us and defining what transgressions are. It clearly demonstrates to us what the perfect will of God is and thus shows us when we are not in the perfect will of God.

If we know what the crimes are, then we know what God wants us to avoid doing. And if we know what God wants us to NOT do, then by default does it not also tell us what God wants us to do? And if we know what God wants us to do, and we know what God wants us to not do, doesn’t that mean that we know the will of God? It makes sense doesn’t it? This brings us back to what Jesus said about who gets into the kingdom, those who do the will of my Father. And now by the teaching of the schoolmaster, we can know what the will is.

How can you do the will if you don’t know what the will is? We’ve come full circle. So the schoolmaster teaches us the Will of God. Is that all it teaches? Is that all we need, to know what the transgressions are? Will that in and of itself bring us to Christ and to justification by faith? The Bible says no. The Bible says it is not enough to know the law. It is not enough to know the will of the father. Jesus didn’t say those who know the will of the Father get into heaven, but only those who DO the will of the Father. Remember it also says in James chapter two “you believe in one God, you have done well, the devil also believes and trembles”. (Most churches today don’t even believe in one God, they believe in three Gods. They are not even as spiritual as the devil.)

James 1: 22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

Knowing right from wrong is not enough, we must be doers of the word and not hearers only. And James pointed out that it is the law that teaches us as well.

St. John 9:41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

Jesus said if you didn’t know better then there was no sin, but since you do know better, and you claim to know better, your sin remains. They knew the will of the Father, they had the schoolmaster of the law, but they did not obey and they did not receive its teaching. They had been under its teaching their whole lives. But still it wasn’t enough. Was it just because they did not obey the law?

Lets take an example:

Mark 10:17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him , Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? 18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is God. 19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. 20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. 21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross and follow me.

So here we have someone who knows the law, and who keeps the law and has kept it his whole life, yet that wasn’t enough because he could see that he did not possess eternal life. He still was not justified. Knowing and keeping the law did not justify him. The law cannot justify us.

The law is our schoolmaster, and it teaches us what the transgressions are. And in teaching us it is supposed to bring us to Christ but the law itself cannot justify us. We can have the whole law and yet be unjustified as the rich ruler was. He had the law and the Bible says he even kept it from his youth, but he did not have eternal life. He was not justified. He was lost.

But it is not the law that justifies us. It was never intended to justify us but to bring us to the One that would justify us. That man is Jesus Christ. And he justified us through the law by fulfilling the law. Remember earlier we said the law has two components. One told us what not to do. And the other told us of the penalty for transgression. The first part was accomplished to John the Baptist time. That is what Jesus said. The law and the prophets were unto John. So the Old Testament is the schoolmaster that shows us what not to do and what to do. Where does Jesus come in?

Jesus Christ fulfilled the entire law. The law was added until John then Jesus, the great capstone, fulfilled the law. He fulfilled the law first by taking the commandment part of the law and changing it from an external law to an internal law. In the old testament it was a physical do or do not. But Jesus tells us that it is not enough to maintain a physical outer law. We must have the law internally.

Matthew 5: 21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment. BUT I SAY unto you that whosoever is angry with his brother without cause shall be in danger of the judgment.

Just stop there for a moment. If we are angry at a brother without cause we are guilty of murder? Is that what Jesus is saying. He said in old days you had to actually take the life but today it is sufficient to hate without cause. The External law is transformed to an Internal law today. God said in our day he would write his word upon our hearts and minds. So if it is written on our hearts and minds then it can also be also transgressed in our hearts and minds. This is an essential concept. I hope you are catching that.

Matthew 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, thou shalt not commit adultery: 28 BUT I SAY unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Jesus said that the person has “Committed it in his heart”. The law is written on our hearts so it is also transgressed in our hearts. So then what chance do we have? At least at one time it was a matter of subjugating the urges you felt and just not going out and doing them. Now to simply willfully entertain those things in our thoughts makes us guilty of sin. Is there any hope for any of us? Certainly not in the law, it condemns us to death. It condemns us internally.

1 John 3: 20 for if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence towards God. 22 And whatsoever we ask we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

The law is now an internal law and will condemn us internally if we even desire to commit a transgression of the law.

But Jesus fulfilled the whole law. He fulfilled the first part. He fulfilled the law by completing the second part as well. He took the entire penalty for all transgressions upon himself. He took All the transgressions both external and internal. He paid the price in his flesh for every sin committed, past, present and future.

That is our only hope, our only salvation, our only reason to live, our only way to live. He alone is the truth the life and the way. He is all in all. Oh what miserable creatures we were without him. And when we receive Him we are set free from the law of sin. Here we get to a very crucial point. This is a point that will surprise most who read this. It is perfectly scriptural but little known. It is absolutely the Bible, absolutely the truth but hidden from most. Remember the paradox we just reviewed.

Galatians 5:18 But if ye be led of the spirit, ye are not under the law.

And also:

Galatians 3: 25 But AFTER that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

So the schoolmaster, the law, teaches us and bring us to Christ and then WHEN we receive Christ in faith, He justifies us through that faith because he fulfilled the law. At THIS POINT we are set free from the law. It is the very moment we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior that we are set free from the law. We were not set free 2000 years ago. He fulfilled his part back then, but we are not personally set free from the Law until the moment we accept Jesus Christ.

We are set free from the Law the moment we receive Christ, not before.

So what of those who have not received Christ? So what of those not led by the spirit? The term If always goes with then. If, then. IF, IF ye are led of the spirit THEN, ye are not under the law. We have to slow down here a little. This is going to be a chunk of meat for some I think.

So then are those who are not led by the spirit, those who refuse the spirit, those who refuse Christ still under the law? Absolutely!

Those who refuse Christ are still under the law!

They will have to stand before the judgment seat of Christ and give an answer for every word in the law. We are either under the law or under grace, there is no third position. We are either in or out. We are either saved or lost. With law comes the judgment and if there were no law then there could not be judgment. And the Bible says he who offends the law in one word is guilty of all. Is that Bible? We mentioned it earlier.

James 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

He is “guilty of all”. If we do not receive Jesus Christ as our saviour, if we are not justified by faith in Him, we will be held accountable for every letter of the law and we will be found Guilty of ALL.

Galatians 3:10 for as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in ALL things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

All the things, not some of them, not most of them, not all but one thing, A-L-L, ALL of them. If we are not in Christ Jesus then we are still under the entire written law. The New Testament is of absolutely none effect to us without the blood of Jesus Christ.

So then what do we do? Receive Christ! Sound good but how? Men and brethren what shall we do?

Acts 2: 37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

See, at this point Jesus had already died for our sins some 50 days ago and risen and ascended on high, but those men who witnessed the pouring out of the Holy Spirit were pricked in their hearts. They were internally condemned by the internal law of the Spirit of God. They were guilty of the law and condemned by it and they knew it. They realized they needed to be justified.

Peter said to them to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. Do you see it? By receiving Jesus Christ we are set free from the law. Without law is no sin. We still committed the acts, but we are set free from the guilt of it. When we repent and are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, it is at that moment that we are set free from the law. It is at that moment in time that we are justified. Until that very second we were completely under the law and guilty of the whole law and condemned to death and hell.

And we must follow exactly for there is a way that seems right unto man the end thereof is death. The Bible gives us a very detailed description of how to receive Jesus Christ. First we must repent, get the inward law and acknowledge our transgressions and make right those things we had made wrong. Then we must be baptized in full immersion in water in the name of Jesus Christ. No other baptism, no baptism in titles, but specifically in the name of Jesus Christ. Thre is exactly one baptism. That is why in Acts chapter 19 a group of repentant believing Christians needed to be rebaptized in the name of Jesus Christ; their original baptism was in error.

Another place where people get lost here is they forget the repent part. Miss that and you go in a dry sinner and come out a wet one. Repent. Make the wrong into a right. Live according to His commandments. Die unto yourselves. Baptism is a burial. And today I think we bury to many live people.

St. John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him. If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. 24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.

What does it mean to “keep” his words? Does it just mean to know them? Does it maybe mean to not change them in any way? The Greek word used here is tereo which means to guard, obey and observe. The Greek word for prison has the same root. So how do we keep His words? It is more than to just know them or to maintain them. To keep the word of God is to imprison them in our hearts and minds. Don’t let them go. Guard them with our lives.

We guard them, we observe them, we obey them, we live them. But what of the law, we are free from the law. So how can we be free from law and yet still have commandments to obey? Are they not the same, commandments and law?

We saw how the law has two facets, a do or do not do, and a punishment for transgression. And we have seen that it is no more an external law but an internal law of the desires of the heart. But here we have commandments. Here we have a way of life laid out in print. And there is not a punishment for not transgressing his commandments.

If we do not keep his commandments then we are still under the law and the law contains the punishment. Do you see it? Jesus said if we keep his commandments, his words, then He will make his abode with us and justify us and free us from the law. So when we keep his words we are free from the law. Then, conversely, when we reject his words, any of his words, we are guilty under the law.

So then we need to receive Him. Have we received him? How do we know we have received him? How do we know we are justified?

Jesus said by their fruits ye shall know them. So what are the fruits? What was the sign of the spirit, the sign that the 120 were told by Jesus to watch for at Pentecost? The sign was Power. How does that power manifest? What is the fruit of that vine?

Galatians 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions heresies 21 envyings, murders, drunkenness, reveling, and such like: of which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they with do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith 23 meekness, temperance: against which there is not law.

See, the law is brought in because of transgressions, because of the work of the flesh, and the law condemns those works and assigns a punishment to them. But the fruit of the spirit aren’t transgressions so there is no law concerning them. So when we receive the spirit of God then we are free from works of the flesh and thus the law concerning those works, being justified by faith in Jesus Christ.

A little note here that I hope doesn’t concern anyone reading here. The word witchcraft doesn’t mean black magic here, it is from the Greek word pharmakeia which means drug user. It means a Drug user of any kind. We are not talking medicines we are talking recreational or addicted drug user. We are talking about cigarette smokers. It refers to marijuana smokers. It is pointing out heroin, MMDA, Cocaine, etc etc users. They are different words but all the same meaning. Paul says if you smoke you will NOT inherit the kingdom of God because you are still under the law as a transgressor of the law and will be judged by the law.

So get free from the works of the flesh today. Jesus Christ bled and died to set you free from those things. Accept him and his sacrifice today. Throw those things out of your life and be saved in Christ. Throw them in the garbage and go to your knees in prayer for strength to overcome, for faith to be delivered and he will give it to you because he promised it. God cannot lie. God cannot fail.

Why can we not live in the works of the flesh and be saved? Because the sprit and the flesh are contrary to each other and the works of the flesh are the very transgressions that the law was added for. We cannot serve God and mammon.

Romans 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and you members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. 15 What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. 16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness.

It says here to whom (personal pronoun) we yield ourselves to obey Him (personal pronoun) we serve. If we obey the spirit of God, THEN we are justified by faith and free from the law. But if we yield to sin and the spirit of the world, to the flesh, then we are not justified and still under the law and will be judged accordingly.

And it is not just a matter of doing the acts anymore. We saw earlier that it is a matter of WANTING to do them, of consciously desiring them. Now we are all tempted, that is for sure, and tempted in our weakness and in our flesh. The difference is in what we DECIDE to do about it. A battle rages in the mind of every Christian, the greatest battle ever fought. And the thoughts in our minds during this battle are not sin, they are temptations TO sin. They arise out of our flesh, and out of our weakness.

So what is the difference? When does our fleshly lusts, which we all have and will have until the rapture changes our bodies, when does it become sin? When is it a transgression? When is it the fruit of the flesh? The thoughts are the seed and a seed must germinate and grow to bear fruit. So then when does the seed of sin that the devil is trying to plant become the fruit of the flesh and sin?

James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. 13Let no man way when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be temped with evil, neither tempted he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

So the temptation is not sin but a blessing! That is hard to believe and I think most will reread that line because they will think they read it wrong the first time. The temptations are a blessing. The Bible says so. We are blessed when we endure temptation.

The fight in our minds, the evil thoughts that come up, the war we have with the devil on a daily basis, is a blessing to us IF we are overcomers. For when we are tried we receive a crown of life. But when do these trials become a sin, a transgression? When we let them conceive, when we make the decision that we want consciously to do them. It is not just having the desire in our flesh, that is the battle, but when we decide that yes I want to do that. That is when we become wilfull sinners. When we decide that even though we know the Word says not to do it, even though our schoolmaster says it is a transgression, we decide that we want to do it anyway. Then we let the thoughts enter our hearts.

It is at this point that sin conceives in us and bears the fruit in time. Remember Jesus said if a man looks at a woman to lust after her. A healthy man cannot look at a beautiful naked woman without being affected. But that isn’t sin. It is when he decides that he wants to keep looking and lusting, when the spirit says turn away and he thinks in his mind, NO, I like it and I am going to do it, that is when the sin conceives in his heart.

The devil will tell you that “oh you got tempted by this or that and you sinned and are lost”. That is a lie! The temptations are there to prove us, to try us, so that we may receive a crown. We just read that when we are tempted it is a BLESSING to us. The temptations are a blessing to us. It is when we yield to the temptation that we are doing wrong. And pay close attention here. This is a very important point. The devil will only tell you that you are wrong when you are right. And he will only tell you that you are right when you are wrong.

Did you get that? The devil will only tell you that you are lost when you are saved. If you are saved he will never point out your fault to you, he’ll point it out to everyone else, but never to you because he knows once you see your fault that you will repent and be free from it being justified by Jesus Christ. Do you see it?

He will try to get you to compromise on the word. He will try to get you to believe his interpretation where he explains away scripture. He will play with your pride by praising you to try to get you to be proud and steal God’s glory. And he will use your pride by insulting and attacking you to try to get you to step out from the word and defend yourself. And the big one here, he will try and convince you that you sinned a sin beyond salvation, that you are serpent’s seed, that you have gone too far. He will only tell you that when it is a lie because he is a liar. And he will only tell you that when it is not true because-

SATAN IS ONLY AT WAR WITH THE SAINTS!

Did you get that? The devil is only at war with the saints. His battle is with the predestinated children of God. He will never say those things to the lost. He is trying to convince you of his lie by telling you that you are lost. But the Bible says that “all those who cry out in the name of the Lord shall be saved”. The Bible says that “he will never leave us or forsake us”. Is that Bible? Then what the devil says must be a lie.

He will also tell you that you are saved when you are not. He will tell you that what I have said up here today is bunk and not worth the effort to listen to. He is looking to destroy you. If he can’t destroy you completely he at least wants to make you a foolish virgin. He will tell you that you are fine when you are not. And he will tell you that you are lost and unsavable when you are already saved and justified by Jesus Christ.

That devil is cagey and sly but the Bible shows us his colours. Remember the spirit of God shows you your wrongs AND the way to repentance. The law, the schoolmaster is there to lead us the Christ. Is that what we read? The law shows us what transgressions are, and leads us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Amen? So when your mind and thoughts show you that you are wrong and going into judgment with no hope, then that is not God doing it. God shows you your wrongs and leads you to repentance and takes the guilt away.

God doesn’t tell you that you are hopelessly lost, he tells you that he has saved you and that he wants you to repent and come back to him. The one telling you that you are lost and beyond hope is the devil. And he is a liar. He always was a liar and always will be a liar. Don’t believe a word of it. There certainly will be a time when it will be too late to repent, but don’t think the devil will remind you of that. He wants to convince you to give up, to believe that you are too bad, too evil, too weak, too sinful to be saved. DON”T BELIEVE IT!

The law is our schoolmaster which shows us what transgressions are that we may come repenting to Christ and receive Jesus and be justified by Christ in faith. The law, the Bible, shows us that we are wrong so that we might have cause to repent and come to Christ. The Law shows us our faults so that we might make them right. The law shows us our weakness so that we may seek the strength of Jesus Christ. The law shows us our unrighteousness so that we may seek to be covered in the robes of His righteousness. The law shows us our sin so that we may wash it in the blood of the lamb. The law shows us judgment that we may find grace.

Fight the fight. Put on the whole armour of God. Give NO place to the devil. Make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof. Don’t allow your fleshly lusts to conceive sin. Get into Christ. Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and receive the Holy Spirit. It is for you. It is God’s promise to you. Get out from under the law and under the all sufficient umbrella of grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The door is still open, He is still on the mercy seat, the fountain is open deep and wide to wash away all your sin, all your iniquity and make you a new creation in Christ Jesus the Lord. Get everything under the blood Jesus Christ. Let the schoolmaster show you what is wrong that you might make it right. Examine the rule of the schoolmaster that you might be led to Christ and justified by faith in him.

There is no other salvation, nor any other name given where we can find salvation. Jesus Christ alone, in him dwells the fullness of the godhead bodily.

The Bible goes on to say that in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God and the word was made flesh and dwelt amongst men. Jesus Christ is the word of God made flesh. The Bible is Jesus Christ, the word of God, in print. Paul says to change a word, even if you were an angel from heaven, you get you cursed. We must accept the whole word of God, the entire Bible, exactly as it is written with no interpretations or changes. Our doctrine must hold true from Genesis to Revelation. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever. His word will never change.

Look into the perfect law of liberty today and let it lead you to the one salvation, the one true God and eternal life, the Lord Jesus Christ, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is the healer of all of our diseases. He forgives all of your transgressions. Accept him as your Lord and savior. Repent and be baptized in his name and come out from under the bondage of the law today.